He pushed again, and they moved, just a bit.
Kara came over to him.
“You don’t—”
“Yes. I do. We’re in this together, Matt. And I’m not completely helpless.”
“You’ve never been helpless,” he said. “On three, we push as hard as we can, then we jump back, okay?”
She nodded. He counted. “One. Two.Three.”
Together, they used all their strength to push the basin through the doors.
A loud, thunderous crash had them turning away from the doors, shielding their heads. Metal grated on metal, creaking, then splashing, as heavy objects fell into the water on the other side of the door that was now partly wedged open by the basin. Matt’s arms covered Kara, expecting something to fall on them, even though they were still on the factory floor. The water moved in waves as objects continued to fall.
A minute later, silence, though the clamoring still rang in Matt’s ears. Simultaneously, they turned and looked.
Through the door they saw what looked like a junk yard. A mountain of twisted objects—a desk, chairs, rebar, cans, jagged metal trays. The debris now blocked the doorway.
Had they walked through the opening, the heavy pile of junk would have fallen on them. They’d probably have died instantly, or been trapped under the shallow water and drowned.
Cautiously, Matt pushed at the sink, hoping that if there was anything else ready to fall he’d jar it loose. The pile shifted, but nothing more fell from above.
The door was partly blocked, but it was open.
“We’ll have to climb over it,” Matt said. “But there’s a lot of sharp metal, I’ll go first and see if I can clear a path.”
She took his hand, squeezed it. “Don’t die on me,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t think of it.”
Matt climbed onto the sink, then he wiggled it with the weight of his body. It didn’t budge, and nothing fell. Carefully, he pushed aside some of the debris. He looked over the pile into a large room.
Another set of doors was on the opposite side, along with windows. They were so filthy he couldn’t see through them, but they brought in enough light that it gave him hope.
The exit. Freedom.
“Almost there, Kara,” he called back to her. “Follow in my footsteps to get over the debris.”
Matt determined the best way through was to crawl over the basin that he’d used as a wedge, then pivot left, where there appeared to be a narrow path without dangerously sharp and rusting metal protruding in every direction. He shuffled through the water, not wanting to step on something sharp enough to puncture the soles of his shoes.
As soon as he was through, he called back to Kara. “Okay, your turn.”
She followed his steps exactly and met him on the other side of the debris without incident. They both breathed easier, but Matt still proceeded cautiously.
The dirty windows provided enough outside light to cast shadows all around and give them decent visibility. The water softly rippled.
Matt and Kara traversed the room, walking cautiously toward the windows. As they neared, Matt saw a door. A simple double-door over which was an unlit exit sign. He stopped.
“You saw something,” Kara said. “What?”
“Stay here.”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she warned him.
“Give me one minute to check things out.” He slowly approached the door, his eyes focused on something that only momentarily reflected from the sun outside. He squatted two feet from the exit.
“Well, shit,” he muttered.
